Tongue blade



C. D. GOVAN TONGUE BLADE Get. 5, 1954 Filed April 21, 1952 FlG.-2

INVENTOR. Clifion D. Govon ATTOR N EYS FIG.I

Patented Dot. 5, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 4 Claims.

This invention relates to tongue blades and the like, such tongue bladesbeing utilized by physicians to depress the tongue during an examinationof the throat and adjacent parts of a patient.

Previously, tongue blades hav been made of wood, without color ordecoration. The conventiona1 wooden tongue blade is flat and rounded atthe ends, but the edges along the side and at the ends are substantiallyright angles, so that these edges may tend to out Or damage soft tissue.Also, the conventional wooden tongue blade may tend to crack orsplinter, if struck by a sharp instrument or tool, and sometimes whenbeing inserted in a holding tool. Also, if a wooden tongue blade, afterone use, is attempted to be sterilized, it tends to warp out of shapeand is therefore useless. Plain, wooden tongue blades, when utilized inthe examination of children, do not have the same eye appeal that acolored blade would have, and even though the promise of the doctor togive the tongue blade to the child following examination, is sometimessuflicient to produce a greater spirit of cooperation in the child, acolored tongue blade is much more appealing to the child's eye. Thus,the promise of a gift of a colored tongue blade increases considerablythe tendency for the child to cooperate in the examination.

It is a common practice of many physicians to hold the tongue blade inone hand while examining a patient, although frequently a physicianutilizes a tool in which the tongue blade is clamped and which isadapted to direct a beam of light along the blade. A smooth Wooden bladeis sometimes difficult to hold accurately, while any new type of tongueblade should be adapted to fit present blade holding tools.

Among the objects of the present invention are to provide a novel tongueblade; to provide such a tongue blade which may be made in colors; toprovide such a tongue blade which does not tend to bend or warp duringsterilization; to provide such a blade which has no sharp edges; toprovide such a blade which does not tend to splinter or crack whenstruck a hard blow; to provide such a tongue blade which is easier tograsp, when held by the fingers, than a plain, smooth, wooden tongueblade; to provide such a tongue blade which is adapted to be used inblade holding tools presently in use; and to provide such a tongue bladewhich may be made economically.

Additiona1 objects and the novel features of this invention will becomeapparent from the description which follows, taken in connection withthe accompanying drawing, in which:

'Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a tongue blade constructed in accordancewith this invention, on an enlarged scale' to show detail with greateraccuracy;

Fig. 2 is a cross section taken along line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation, on a slightly reduced scale, of the tongueblade of this invention mounted in a conventional blade hOldillg tool;

Fig. 4 is a partial top plan view of the blade in the tool of Fig. 3;and

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section taken along line 55 of Fig. 4.

As illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, a tongue blade B constructed inaccordance with this invention may comprise an elongated strip, which ispreferably formed of a plastic which may be white or colored, and may beapproximately 146 mm. long and 18 mm. wide, the ends [0 of the bladebeing grounded so as to be substantially semicircular or the like, andthe edges II also being rounded, such as also to be semi-circular or thelike, it being understood that the rounded edges H shown in Fig. 2extend around the ends II] of Fig. 1. The thickness of the blade may beabout 1 mm., and the blade is provided with a series of longitudinalridges, preferably formed integrally with the blade, such as two pair ofridges on each side; as shown, each pair may comprise inner ridges l2and outer ridges I3, th inner and outer ridges of each pair preferablymerging with another and the ridges being in opposed positions onopposite sides of the blade. The ends of the ridges l2 and I3 arepreferably rounded, and in any event merge into the surface of the bladewithout the production of any sharp edges. Ridges l2 and ridges l3 mayextend to a height of mm. above the level of the blade, and the innerridges l2 are preferably longer than the outer ridges l3. Thus, theinner ridges I2 may be approximately 101 mm. in length, and the outerridges l3 approximately 96 mm, in length, the ridges preferably beingcentered so as to leave an equal flat space at each end of the blade.The central spacing between inner ridges 12 may be about 6 mm., and eachpair of ridges l2 and I3 may be approximately 4 mm. at the base. Theridges are sufficiently heavy to impart enough strength to the blade toprevent warping during sterilization, and also sufliciently prominentthat they add to the security with which the blade may be held, yet notsuificiently thick that they produce discomfort during use or preventinsertion of the blade into a conventional blade holding tool, such asthe tool T of Fig. 3.

The tool T may comprise a casing l5 in which 3 a battery (not shown) maybe placed, and provided with a thumb ring IE5 at the top, which isadapted to be rotated in one direction to turn on a switch and the otherdirection to turn the switch off, the switch being conventional andtherefore not shown. Extending centrally from the upper end of thecasing 1'5 is a post IT, on which is mounted a blade socket 18 which iscurved around its rear end and the top IQ of which is longer than thebottom 20. Also, the sides of the blade socket are open and the end ofthe bottom 20 may be spaced from the top l9 by a rivet 2| forming a postat each side, these rivets also imparting stability to the blade socket.The blade socket is mounted at an angle on top of the post H, such as atan included angle of 135 between the axis of the post I! and the1ongitudinal axis of the blade socket I8. A socket 22 for a small lightbulb 23 is mounted on the top IQ of the blade socket, while a wire 24carries current from the battery in casing l5 to the bulb socket 22. Aremovable cover 25 for the bulb 23 may also be provided, the cover 25preferably having a hole 25 in the end thereof, so as to restrict thelight to a direction longitudinally down the blade B.

The blade B may be fastened in the blade socket 18 by a thumb screw 2?which extends through a threaded boss 28 attached to or formedintegrally with the top 19 of the blade socket, the thumb screw beingadapted to be tightened to hold the blade securely in the blade socketand to be loosened for removal or replacement of the blade.

As will be evident from Fig. 4, the blade B of this invention mayreadily be inserted in the blade socket through the opening at the frontupper end thereof, and slid back into the socket until the end of theblade is beneath the thumb screw 21. The ends of the ridges l2 and I3are preferably spaced from the end of the blade sufficiently so thateven with the blade inserted clear into the rear end of the bladesocket, the thumb screw will engage the smooth fiat surface beyond theends of the ridges l2 and 13. However, the thumb screw is also adaptedto hold the blade in the blade socket, even though the blade is notinserted clear into the end. The blade socket l8 conventionally providesa space having a thickness slightly greater than the usual thickness ofa wooden tongue blade and, as will be evident, the total thickness ofthe ridges l2 and 13 may be equivalent to the conventional thickness ofa wooden tongue blade, but the main body of the blade is substantiallythinner.

As will be evident, the rounded edges l i of the blade of this inventiondo not tend to out or damage soft tissue, while the plastic material ofwhich the blade is made does not tend to crack or splinter. Furthermore,the ridges i2 and 13, as well as the rounded edges H, can be made at noadditional production expense, since the plastic of which the blade ismade is preferably susceptible to high speed molding operations. Thus,the additional advantages obtained by the ridges I2 and I3 and therounded edges ll may be obtained at little or no extra cost.

The preferred plastic material of which the blade of this invention ismade is a plastic which can be molded, and which also is tasteless,odorless and water and saliva. resistant. Thus, a suitable plastic ispolystyrene, although other plastics such as the polyamine resin knownas nylon, or certain of the acrylic resins or thevin-yl resins. may beused. 01",, a protein plastic such as casein, or plastics which may bepoured as liquids into molds and hardened by a subsequent bakingoperation, such as a phenolic casting resin, may be used. Preferably,for use by pediatricians or other physicians having an extensivepractice among children, the colors are assorted. That is, a physicianmay carry an assortment of colors, so as to permit the child to indicatewhich color he wishes to be used, since red may appeal to some children,blue to other children, green to still other children, and other colorsor shades to additional children.

Preferably, the surface of the final product has a low light reflectioncoefiicient, so that there will be as small amount as possible ofreflected light to interfere with the vision of the physician.

From the foregoing, it will be evident that the tongue blade of thisinvention fulfills to a marked degree the requirements and objectshereinbefore set forth. The strength of a relatively thin blade providedwith longitudinal ridges permits the blade to be sterilized for reuse,but even when made in various colors and therefore adapted to be givenaway to children to increase their interest and cooperation, the cost isstill relatively low. Furthermore, the additional strength imparted bythe ridges and the lack of any edges which might cut or injure softtissue may be obtained at no extra cost for material or manufacturingoperations. The ridges not only provide strength to the blade but alsopermit the blade to be held more securely when used by hand, while thetermination of the ridges at a point spaced from the ends not onlyprovides a smooth surface at the end of the blade for use in depressingthe tongue of the patient, but also provides a smooth surface at theopposite end to permit a thumb screw or the like of a conventional bladeholding tool to be applied.

While a specific embodiment of this invention has been described withparticularity, it will be understood that changes may be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A tongue blade comprising an elongated, smooth-surfaced body formedof plastic material and having a length several times its width and awidth several times its thickness, each end thereof being rounded on anarc and all edges therea-round being rounded substantially on an arc,said body having a series of longitudinally extending ridges on eachside in opposed positions, said ridges being disposed in two pairs withone pair spaced at each side of the center and terminating a substantialdistance from each end of the body, each ridge being rounded and havingrounded ends and the outer ridge of each pair being shorter than theinner ridge of each pair and the two ridges of each pair merginglaterally with each other and extending to a height above the level ofthe remainder of the body not greater than the thickness of the body.

2.v A tongue blade comprising an elongated, smooth-surfaced body formedof plastic-like material and having a length several times its width anda width several times its thickness, each end thereof being rounded andall edges therearound being rounded, said body having a series oflongitudinally extending ridges on each side, said ridges being disposedin two pairs with one pair spaced at each side of a longitudinal centerline and each ridge being rounded and having rounded. ends, the outerridge of each pair being shorter than the inner ridge of each pair andeach terminating at a point spaced from the end of said body a distanceat least equal to the width of the body, the two ridges of each pairmerging laterally with each other and extending to a height above thelevel of the remainder of the body for a distance not greater than thethickness of said body.

3. A tongue blade comprising an elongated body formed of plastic-likematerial and having a length several times its width and a Width severaltimes its thickness, each end thereof being rounded and all edgestherearound being rounded, said body having a series or" longitudinallyextending ridges on each side in opposed positions, each ridge beingrounded having rounded ends.

4. A tongue blade comprising an elongated body formed of plastic-likematerial and having a length several times its Width and a Width severaltimes its thickness, each end thereof being rounded on an arc and alledges therearound being smooth, said body having a series oflongitudinally extending ridges on each side, said ridges being disposedin two pairs with one pair at each side of a longitudinal center-line,and each ridge extending for at least a major portion of the length ofsaid body and terminating at a point spaced from the end of said body adistance at least equal to the width of said body.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,396,933 Jacoby Nov. 15, 1921 FOREIGN PATENTS Number CountryDate 19,211 Austria Feb. 25, 1905

